The mid-1950s were Miklós Rózsa's "historical" years, during which he provided superb scores for M-G-M's costume dramas and adventures including All the Brothers Were Valiant (1953), Knights of the Round Table (1953, FSMCD Vol. 6, No. 7), Tribute to a Bad Man (1956, FSMCD Vol. 5, No. 19), Diane (1956) and Lust for Life (1956, FSMCD Vol. 5, No.1). The studio's 1955 Moonfleet was in many ways a routine swashbuckler starring Stewart Granger, but also a unique film directed by the legendary German expressionist, Fritz Lang.

Moonfleet—set in 1757 Dorsetshire—follows an orphaned boy (Jon Whitely), who is placed in the custody of a cultured rogue (Granger) only to find his would-be caretaker in league with smugglers. Man and boy form an unlikely bond in pursuit of a legendary diamond from the boy's family, and eventually the scoundrel is rehabilitated in his concern for the youth, though not until after a treacherous journey dotted by character actors such as George Sanders, Joan Greenwood, John Hoyt, Jack Elam and Alan Napier.

The real star, however, was behind the camera: Lang turned the generic tale into an impressive series of visual strokes, from gothic backdrops to ghoulish imagery. The director had departed the picture by the time his "old friend" Miklós Rózsa arrived to do the music (Rózsa reported to producer John Houseman), but Rózsa responded with a melodic score driven by a soaring seascape evoking the British Isles, one of his loveliest themes. As was typical for Rózsa, he also provided a wealth of secondary themes—for the film's menacing smugglers, the mysterious bonds between man and boy, the frequent moments of shock and fright, and more—and setpieces for dynamic action as well as haunting reflection.

FSM's premiere CD of Moonfleet features the complete score in stereo from the original 35mm master elements. The program features a chronological assembly of the complete underscore (46:48) followed by alternate score cues (including four alternate endings) and source cues (30:22). Liner notes are by Jeff Bond and Lukas Kendall.

Hungarian-born Miklós Rózsa (1907-1995) is a titan of film music. Responsible for such classic scores as Spellbound, Ben-Hur, King of Kings, El Cid and many others—from biblical epics to 1940s films noir to historical dramas—his signature style is one of the most pleasing and dramatic in film. He was under contract to M-G-M from 1948 to 1962 and FSM has released a great deal of this classic music; also available are his latter-period scores such as The Green Berets and Time After Time.IMDB

Some time after the message that this score has nearly sold out, I picked it up and I have just finished listening to it. What a gorgeous and wonderful score this is. It has an absolutely gorgeous main theme and it's just all around colourful and evocative music and typically Miklós Rózsa. I love it!

Although SODOM AND GOMORRAH and EL CID are some of my favorites, the mid-1950s yielded the Rozsa music I find most satisfactory. LUST FOR LIFE, MOONFLEET, & VALLEY OF THE KINGS are all 'Top 5' with me, with MOONFLEET being my No.1.

Although SODOM AND GOMORRAH and EL CID are some of my favorites, the mid-1950s yielded the Rozsa music I find most satisfactory. LUST FOR LIFE, MOONFLEET, & VALLEY OF THE KINGS are all 'Top 5' with me, with MOONFLEET being my No.1.[/endquote]

My Rózsa collection and knowledge of his oeuvre is still in its infancy, so I cannot make much of a statement about Moonfleet's position within his vast oeuvre, but comments like this help me to further my knowledge. What I can positively say though is that there is a passion in his music that I really like and Moonfleet has lots of it.

It is nice to see that you put Lust for Life within your top 5, because that one is at the top of my Rózsa wish list.